VetStack
FeaturesPricingFree ToolsJob BoardBlogFAQContact
Sign inGet started free
Free · anonymous · crowd-sourced

What does veterinary medicine actually pay?

Real compensation data, reported anonymously by DVMs, vet techs, and practice managers. No account, no email, no identifying information - just the numbers.

See the dataAdd your salary →
No name or email collectedTakes under a minuteNothing to sign up for
Veterinary professionals discussing a case

No anonymous submissions yet

Be the first to contribute - it takes under a minute. Until then, here are public industry benchmarks for reference.

Industry benchmarks (external sources, not from this survey)

Veterinarian (DVM)

$130,100/yr

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025

Veterinary Technician

$47,380/yr

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025

Practice Manager

$62,122/yr

Payscale, 2026

Writing about vet compensation?

Feel free to cite this data - here's a ready-made attribution you can paste directly into your article.

“Real, anonymous compensation data reported directly by DVMs, vet techs, and practice managers.”

Why you can trust this data

Fully anonymous

No name, email, or account is ever collected with a submission - there is nothing to deanonymize.

Minimum sample sizes

A breakdown only appears once a category has at least 3 (or 5 for region) submissions, so one outlier never masquerades as a trend.

Updated continuously

Every submission updates the live averages immediately - this isn’t a once-a-year PDF, it’s a running dataset.

Self-reported

Figures come directly from DVMs, techs, and practice managers - not from job listings or employer-submitted ranges.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average veterinarian salary in 2026?

It varies significantly by region, years of experience, and practice type - see the live breakdowns above for current median and average figures by role. Because this is a continuously updated, crowd-sourced dataset (not a fixed annual report), the numbers shift slightly as more veterinarians contribute their own data.

How much do relief and locum veterinarians make?

Relief and locum compensation is typically structured per day or per shift rather than as an annual salary, and tends to run higher per hour than full-time equivalent pay to offset the lack of benefits. See the "Full-time vs. relief/locum" breakdown above for current self-reported figures.

Is this salary data accurate?

It’s self-reported and anonymous, so it reflects what real DVMs, techs, and practice managers say they earn - not a survey vendor’s estimate or a recruiter’s advertised range. We only publish a breakdown once it has enough submissions to be meaningful (see Methodology below), and we show medians alongside averages since compensation data is often skewed by a small number of high or low outliers.

Do I need to create an account to submit my salary?

No. There’s no sign-up, no email, and no VetStack account required - the entire form is anonymous and takes under a minute.

Looking for your next role or shift?

Browse free relief, locum, and full-time veterinary job postings - or post an opening if you're hiring.

Browse the job boardTry VetStack free
VetStack

AI-powered SOAP note generation for veterinarians. Save time, see more patients.

HIPAA-grade security
SOC 2 certified

Our technology follows HIPAA-grade security practices, uses industry best practices, and auto-deletes audio recordings after 90 days.

Company

AboutPricingFree ToolsCondition ReferenceSalary SurveyJob BoardCompare AI ScribesBlogSecurityFAQContact

Legal

PrivacyTermsCookiesAcceptable Use

Stay in the loop

New tools, product updates, and clinical workflow ideas, straight to your inbox. No spam.

© 2026 VetStack. All rights reserved.